— 2024

"I promise, I'll make it up to you."

He takes her hands in his own, eyes locked onto hers to clarify his sincerity. She furrows her brows sadly, a subtle frown on her face. "You promise?"

He nods, moving one hand to caress her face. "You have my word. I know I made a mistake. I won't forget again, I promise."

"It's just this year was different, Michael." She withdraws from him, slowly pacing around the room. "It was five years. That's a milestone for us. I thought you'd remember our fifth anniversary."

"I know. I just ... I had a lot going on with work." Michael slips his fingers through his long, black curls stressfully. "I know it's not an excuse, but my mind was so full from deadlines and other stuff."

She nods, feeling hurt, but understanding her partner. "I know. I just wish you realised I don't need you to work so much. I would rather see you more and have less money. We can get by. We can afford it. And we'd have had a better day today."

"Harper, look. I know you think we can get by and that everything is fine ... but we're both grown adults. We both know that once our little girl is here, things are going to get expensive." Michael rests a loving hand against his wife's slowly-growing baby bump, with a strong glint of adoration in his eyes. "I'm so excited to meet her. And things will be so much better if we have the financial means to make her life perfect."

Harper looks up to him, tears starting to form in her pretty green eyes. "I know. I just miss you."

"It won't be for much longer okay? Once I get this promotion at work, I'll be making more per hour and that means I can do a little less. And that means seeing your beautiful face just that little bit extra."

This comment earns a smile from her, so he grabs the chance while she's in a better mood to end the discussion. "I love you — both of you. So much." He squeezes her cheek playfully. "And we'll be alright."

She nods, feeling a little more satisfied than before. "I love you too. I'm gonna go rest a little though. I'm feeling a little nauseous."

"No problems, babe. Do you want me to come wake you up when I've made you food?"

"Yeah, thanks. I'll see you in a while." She flashes a smile, before heading out the room, and out of sight.

The moment she vanishes, a frown forms on Michael's face. He walks over to his laptop, which is perched on the arm of the sofa. Taking a seat, he opens up the laptop, switching it on and logging in to view his emails. He clicks the very top email — one he already read just prior to his little disagreement with Harper — to read it once again, with fear causing a painful ache in his chest.

Re: Notification of Release of Contract

Dear Mr Jackson,

Due to the fact that the business is slowly losing its clients, I regret to inform you that — as of June 17, 2024 — we unfortunately have to release you from your contract of employment as the business is subject to liquidation.

We thank you sincerely for your contributions to the company, and will keep all information about your employment for future reference. If we find any suitable job opportunities, we will be sure to notify you.

If you have any concerns or questions, please don't hesitate to get into contact with us, and once again we apologise.

Many kind regards and best of luck for your future.

Mark Hanover

CEO, Alliance Ltd

A shaky breath escapes as Michael closes the email. He hates to lie to his wife, but if she finds out he's been laid off, she will be devastated. He evaluates that he must find a new job, before she can realise he's lost his old one. Opening up a new window, he searches for job opportunities in Indiana — but limited options show up.

"Dang it!" he hisses, slamming the lid of his laptop closed in defeat.

His head falls into his hand in despair, before he looks up at the home he's created for himself. In the last few years he has transformed this house into a lovely place of solace and safety for him and his soon-growing family. He picks himself up from the sofa, before trudging quietly through to the hallway. He makes his way up the stairs, making a conscious effort not to make noise as not to wake Harper up. Soon, he arrives at the door to his unborn daughter's room; he carefully pushes it open to reveal the pastel pink walls and the butterfly wall decals and the bright white crib, with matching changing table and wardrobe.

He steps inside, his eyes averting to the wooden toy box with his baby's name stuck to it in vinyl sticker — "Rae". The name was chosen as soon as they knew the gender, around two months ago. They always used to refer to their baby as their "ray of sunshine", so the name seemed beautiful and fitting.

"I'm so excited to meet you," he breathes, bending down on one knee to touch the glossy letters of his child's name with his fingers. "Not long now. Only a couple months and you'll be in our arms. And I'll be the best dad ever, I promise." He sighs, Harper's face forming a mental image in his head. "And baby girl, I promise I'll be a better husband to your mom too. I married her last year as a symbol of all I want to be, and all I'll become." He stands back up, walking back to the door to leave the room. Upon closing the door as silently as he can, Michael goes back down the stairs to make dinner for himself and Harper.

His mind continues to race, with worries and fears and anxieties surrounding his career. How can he provide for his family if he has no job? Will he even be able to afford to survive himself, let alone afford a child? Will he even be a fit father to her? These questions seem to have no answer at present, as he's stood in the kitchen preparing his evening meal.

He begins to ask himself whether there's any quick ways to earn money until he finds another job. Become internet famous? Plenty of people his age are currently doing that and living lavishly as a result. It seems to be the go-to for a lot of people these days. But then Harper would find out and she'd know he lost his job, so he can't possibly do that. Perhaps he could set up his own online business — but what would he sell? What service would he offer? No immediate ideas come to him. Does he even have a special skill or talent? Nothing leaps to mind. Perhaps this whole idea is hopeless.

His distraction almost causes him to burn the food he's made — but not quite. He snaps out of his thoughts just in the nick of time to check on its progress; he notes that it's just a little overcooked, but not to the point of tasting bad. He slaps himself on the wrist for being so careless, before serving up the food onto two plates. To allow it some time to cool off a little, he rushes to the dinner table to set the cutlery out. Two water glasses are added, before a large jug of water is placed in the centre of the table. Michael would normally drink something alcoholic or perhaps something high in caffeine, but due to Harper's pregnancy he avoids it now. He wants to be the healthiest he can be for his little girl.

Once he's put the plates of food onto the table, he makes his way back up the stairs to wake his wife up from her nap. He enters their shared room, seeing her tossing and turning in her sleep to find a comfortable position. He feels a certain level of sympathy for her — pregnancy is beautiful, but must be so uncomfortable for the mother.

"Babe, food's ready," he whispers, shaking her by the shoulder gently, as not to startle her. "Wake up, wake up."

Her eyes open reluctantly, while they adjust to the new lighting in the room. "Hey." She uses her arms to hoist her body up into an upright position. "I'm so hungry now. I'm ready for this." She laughs softly, getting off the bed and finding her footing before leaving the room with him.

*

"Thank you for dinner," Harper smiles, giving her husband a sweet kiss on his temple as she heads towards the door for the next room. "Thank you for working so hard for us. At the end of the day, I appreciate it even if I see you less."

The guilt from keeping the lay-off a secret begins to upset him. "Harper ... sit down. I got something to tell you."

She gives him a look of concern, nervously returning to her seat. "Has something happened Michael?"

He looks down at his empty plate, not wanting to make eye contact with her. "Yeah ... something did happen. And I'm not sure what to do about it now."

"Well, we can work it out together." She takes his hands in her own, forcing him to look at her. "We're a team, Michael. We have been for five years now. Whatever has happened, we can find a way out of it."

He nods doubtfully, his brows knitting together in apprehension. "I got an email this afternoon from the CEO at work. I've been laid off. I don't have a job anymore." Tears form in his eyes as he prepares for her reaction. "I'm sorry Harper. I'm so lost on what to do. I want to be a good father to Rae, and—"

"Hey." Harper playfully squeezes his cheek, as he did to her earlier. "You will be the best daddy, whether you have a job or not. We'll fix this. We'll find a way. If I have to find a job I will—"

"Absolutely not," he interrupts. "Not at seven months' pregnant. I'm keeping you safe. I'm not letting anything hurt you or our baby girl."

"Well maybe when she's born, I'll go find a job. Once I've recovered."

"We'll cross that hurdle when we get to it. Right now it's me who needs to step up and do my part. I've hurt you enough, and I'm going to make it right." A look of determination settles across his face. "I'll look online. In newspapers. On store windows. Everywhere. I won't stop until I find a way to make your lives as perfect as they deserve to be. I promise you that."

"Hey ... at least I'll see you a little more while you aren't working." Harper chuckles, in an attempt to find the bright side of the situation. "You'll find a job easy. You're one of the best in your business. People would be a fool to turn you down."

Michael flashes a brief smile at her kindness. "See, that's just you all over. Finding the best in a bad situation. I don't know what I did to deserve you, Harper." He puts a loving arm around her, kissing her forehead.

Even if a situation seems impossible to get out of, just seeing her face reassures him who he's doing this for. She is the reason for his determination, and his will power, and his ambition. And once his baby girl comes along, he'll have a whole new reason to drive him to be the best he can be.

Despite the positivity his wife emanates though, he can't help but feel some anxiety over where his future lies.

~~

Chapter one! I hope you're enjoying this so far — it'll get better I promise!